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curlylocks_gw

Overwintering geraniums

curlylocks
17 years ago

I know this is WAY TOO EARLY TO BE THINKING ABOUT IT but I'm trying to accumulate fair size pots for the winter to overwinter them. At what point in time do I cut them back in order for them to be a fair size when I replant in the spring?

Also, what are your successes in overwintering?

Thanks

Comments (4)

  • greenthumbgardener
    17 years ago

    I like to dig mine up, shake off the dirt, and hang them upside-down from the rafters. It takes much less room this way.
    But for some good hints, page down to the end of this forum and type in the search area: pelargonium-overwintering

  • curlylocks
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thanks for your help greenthumbgardener

  • melrt968
    17 years ago

    How many plants do you have?
    Do you have frost free storage space?
    What do you regard as a "fair sized" pot?

  • caroldiane
    17 years ago

    It doesn't realy matter the size....what plant is considered small, can then be put together with another "small" and grow them together.

    You cant force a plant to grow to any selected size. Sometimes a geranium might get...considered "too large"...so split it, make two out of one.
    Or.....make one out of two. As long as they are healthy and have grown well, they should be good candidates to winter well.....IF....given what they have to have.

    A cool environment....where they MUST NOT FREEZE, they must be removed from the garden before any frost hits them.
    A frost will kill a geranium.
    When in doubt whether you should take them in...if in pots, remove them to a place they can be protected during nighttime temperatures, then put back outside to enjoy further daytime warmth and sun.

    Cool...then is what they must have. Coolness prevents growth..keeps the plant dormant.

    Dry....no hint of moisture must they be touched by.
    After all, why put them where they cant grow...yet give them water. What's the water supposed to do.
    So....dry is what they must have.

    Dark...not so much they must have complete darkness...its just that light may force them to do something...grow...produce leaves...
    We don't want them to grow or produce anything. So keep light away from causing the plant to do anything.

    When we decide to cause the plant to come out of dormancy is the time we decide the plant will produce new growth, new leaves, new flowers.

    Geranium is one of the few that can be made to produce what they were the previous year.

    If you cant give the plant what they need to rejuvenite, then plan on just buying new plants next spring.

    Coolness is the one big hurdle for most gardeners. The plant must not be allowed to freeze. So placing it in a space that is cool...not warm, cool...not cold...is what you must provide.

    Sometimes a cold place, such as an unheated garage, may work IF you can protect the plant from being touched by the cold. A container, lined with styrofoam, and given further protection, can work. A lone bare incandescent bulb, placed above the container during nighttime, might keep the container at the proper temperature.
    Any further packing around the plant will be appreciated.

    No cuttng back of the plant before we decide to renew is necessary. What strength the plant has in the fall will work to its benefit...so don't cut it back in the fall.
    That is what we do as part of re-invigorating it in February/March.

    We choose this time to cause it to renew itself because it is then the sun begins to rise from its winter slumber.
    The plant will not, cannot, grow in a winter sun....its just not intense enough. Plants go into a dormant state in winter...in February we bring it out of its dormancy becasuse the sun will work in our favor.

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